Much like the previous SteelSeries Mousepad review, there wasn't much we knew about ZOWIE Gear when we were first approached for this review.

Quote:

ZOWIE GEAR is an innovative manufacturer of competitive gaming gear, founded late 2008 with a mission to develop the best competitive gaming gear available.
We are not limited by shareholders telling us what we can or cannot do. We are a free-minded company consisting of experienced and creative individuals, united in ZOWIE on a common ground; our passion for gaming. No boundaries. No compromises. Just gaming.

ZOWIE GEAR has no ambition to become the biggest manufacturer of competitive gaming gear. We just want to be the best. If we can develop products that will increase a gamers performance by just 1%, we will do it. This is our mentality.

My first thoughts when I received this product in the mail was that having a mouse pad that was rolled up into a box was rather odd. After seeing them in stores always flat, and with the last mousepad I had being very stiff, I was surprised to see that this one was very flexible. The next thing that shocked me was the sheer size of the mousepad. When put next to the SteelSeries 4HD this thing was massive; for comparison here is what the G-TF looks like with the 4HD on top of it.

It eclipses the 4HD size in every way. For me to use this mousepad, since I have a desk with the slide out keyboard and mouse attachment, I had to put the G-TF not only under my mouse but my keyboard as well. The G-TF was so large that even when placed on the slide tray, it still was over hanging on the top of the attachment. So this pad is truly made for the hardcore gamer who has lots of space available for use with his gaming mouse.

Now on to the other aspects of the pad. They say "made of cloth but tracks like plastic". I am 50-50 on this remarks; within Windows 7 x64 I noticed that the tracking seemed lax. I found myself going into my Razer settings to increase the mouse speed; it felt like the mouse was dragging on the surface. But once I was within Ubuntu 10.10 the surface was great. There was no drag, no slow down or anything.

For clarification it must be stated that this effect was only noticed at first, when I first switched from the 4HD to the ZOWIE G-TF. After several days switching between Ubuntu and Windows I did not notice the drag anymore. So it should be noted that if your going from a hard, rigid gaming mousepad to a surface such as the G-TF you will need a couple of days to adjust to the new, softer feel.

After using the mousepad for more than a week I find myself more than satisfied with it and would suggest this pad to the average user and not just the hard core gamer. It is now a toss up for me if I want to stay with the G-TF or go back the the 4HD that I was using previously.

CONCLUSION

I rather enjoy the feel of the G-TF and find it not only pleasant to use but to feel my wrist rest on while in operation. It is comfortable and it tracks well. The sheer size of it is an added bonus for anyone; it saves you from having to pick up and readjust your mouse while in the heat of battle and gives you more than enough space to move around. Check out ZOIWE Gear, it will be worth your time.

RATING

I would like to thank ZOWIE Gear for the opportunity to review their product and learn more about their company.